Why does the Moon have craters and the Earth does
not?
ANDREW, AGE 9, BIRMINGHAM
Answer: The Earth does have craters, just not
as many as the Moon. Craters on the Moon, Earth or any other planet are
made when chunks of rock smash into it and dent the surface.
One of the differences between the Moon and Earth though
is that the Earth has an atmosphere. As rocks enter our atmosphere, they
burn up and get destroyed so it鈥檚 only the biggest pieces that reach the
surface and make a dent or crater.
The Moon doesn鈥檛 have much of an atmosphere so smaller
rocks get through and hit the surface. The atmosphere on Earth also means
we have lots of weather; rain and wind, which eventually erodes the craters.
Again, the Moon does not have this so craters stay for a lot longer.
The Moon during an eclipse |
Where is the moon in its orbit when we cannot see
it at all?
MADDIE LEADON, AGE 11, HARLOW
Answer: We see the Moon because it is lit up by
sunlight. As the Moon goes around the Earth we see different amounts of
this lit up portion of it.
When the Moon lies between us and the Sun, all of the
lit up portion is facing the Sun and is turned away from the Earth so
we only see the dark side. This means we cannot see it. This is when the
Moon is said to be at the New Moon phase.
How does the moon produce light?
RITIKA, AGE 9, LONDON
Answer: The Sun is the
only thing in our Solar System that gives off its own light. We can see
the Moon because light from the Sun bounces off it back to the Earth.
If the Sun wasn't there, we wouldn't be able to see it.
How many days does it take for the moon to orbit the
Earth?
FRANKEE, AGE 13, BURGESS HILL
Answer: It takes the Moon just about 27 days to
go around the Earth once. It also takes about 27 days to spin once. This
means we always see the same face of the Moon.
Why does the Moon seem to change shape?
BOB, AGE 8, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Answer: We see the Sun because it gives off light,
like a light bulb does. We see the Moon in the sky because light from
the Sun bounces off it and gets to Earth.
As the Moon moves around the Earth and Sun, we see different
parts of the Moon being lit up by the Sun. When we see a Full Moon we
see all of the daytime side of the Moon, when we see a crescent Moon,
we see a little bit of the night time side and a lot of the daytime side.
The face of the Moon by Ian Law |
Is there day and night on the moon?
BRANDON, AGE 10, WILDWOOD
Answer: There is day and
night on the Moon. We only ever see one side of the Moon but it does experience
days and nights like us.
Does the moon rise at the same time and at different
locations around the Earth?
JARREN, JACKSON, MS
Answer: If you watch the
Moon rising night after night, you will see that it rises at a different
time each evening.
On the same night but from different places on the Earth
you will see how it rises at different times.
Does the moon rotate on it's own axis? Do we only
see one side of the moon always?
BOB, AGE 44, KONA, HI
Answer: The Moon does rotate
on its own axis, taking about 27 days to spin once. It also takes the
Moon about 27 days to complete one orbit of the Earth.
This means that we always see the same face of the Moon
from Earth.
Why does the Moon sometimes look so close to the earth
and other times look so far away?
JURDAN, AGE 9
Answer: The Moon doesn't
travel around the Earth in a circle, it travels around it in something
we call an ellipse.
This just looks like a squashed circle. It means that
sometimes the Moon is closer to us and other times is farther away.
Why don't things grow on the Moon and why do we have
to wear spacesuits?
RYAN GRIFFITH, AGE 6
Answer: Plants need an
atmosphere to grow and we need an atmosphere to breathe.
The Moon has no atmosphere so plants cannot grow and
we need to wear a spacesuit so we can breathe..
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